On Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is typically the well-attended Sunday service of the year for Christian churches. Christians believe according to Scripture, that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his death on the cross. As part of the Easter season, the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion is commemorated on Good Friday, always the Friday just before Easter. Through his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for sin, thus purchasing for all who believe in him, eternal life in Christ Jesus. Read More »

Earth Day is one of two observances, both held annually during spring in the northern hemisphere, and autumn in the southern hemisphere. These are intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. The United Nations celebrates an Earth Day each year on the March equinox, a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969. A second Earth Day, which was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970, is celebrated in many countries each year on April 22.
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Earth Hour is a global event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Earth hour was conceived by WWF Greenwich and the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney’s lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008. Read More »

Nyepi Day

What: Balinese Day of Silence

When: Bali’s Luna New Year (March 26th 2009)

The Lowdown:

Nyepi is a really special day in the Balinese Hindu calendar. Sometimes it’s called the ‘Day of Silence’ since Nyepi is celebrated by having a full day of ‘silence’, self reflection and fasting. Even though Nyepi only runs on one day there is quite a build up to the day. Including of course the night before Nyepi when Bali’s famous Ogoh-Ogoh’s fill the streets! Read More »

I was greeted in the morning by the sound of the circus elephant named Bimba, who was having breakfast just outside our tent. Bimba was finishing up his third banana tree… luckily there are lots of bananas on Kaleidoscope Island! As I walked by, Bimba said hello with a friendly tug on one of my ponytails, hehe, I think he likes them because they kind of look like a ripe banana I joined Niki and Grinder in the eating area of the circus camp, a tent with huge Persian carpets, beautiful cushions and funky lamps that hang upwards. Niki was learning how to make Tamarillo juice from the circus leader, Aunty Maya. They had heaps of Tamarillos all ready for juicing; Bimba had helped pick them this morning in the jungle. “Try some” said Niki, handing me a glass filled with maroon colored tamarillo smoothie. Mmmm… it’s tangy-sweet, my favorite!!

We all sat in a circle having a breakfast of scones and tamarillo juice. Aunty Maya began telling us about life in the circus, and all the adventures they meet while on tour. Before becoming a circus leader, Aunty Maya was a naturalist and an actress. As a circus leader she combined her knowledge of nature and art. To prepare for touring, they would always come to Kaleidoscope Island to practice, relax and collect all the supplies they needed while on the road. Aunty Maya taught the team how to collect honey, dry fruits, make tea from hibiscus flowers and shampoo from the hibiscus leaf. “The jungle is filled with everything we could ever need” said Aunty Maya, “but you have to know where to look.”

Later this afternoon, Niki, Grinder and me are planning to go on a honey hunt with Bimba the elephant. Aunty Maya says that Bimba is the best honey hunting elephant in all of Sumatera, and that’s how they first became friends years ago when Aunty Maya lived there studying strange plants and flowers in the jungle. “But that’s a different time, and a different story” said Aunty Maya with a far-off gaze in her eyes.